New Delhi, Aug 3 (IANS) Gangster Sachin Bishnoi alias Sachin Thappan, who was extradited from Azerbaijan to India on Tuesday in connection with the Sidhu Moosewala murder case, has revealed that he was planning to kill his rival Kaushal Chaudhary and was in process to hire a hitman from the Bambiha gang when he was caught by the Azerbaijan police in Baku last year in August, sources said on Thursday.
Chaudhary, also a gangster, is currently lodged in Gurugram's Bhondsi jail.
As per the sources, during the interrogation by the Special Cell of Delhi Police, Sachin Bishnoi revealed that he had travelled to Dubai from Delhi using a fake passport in April and while staying in Dubai, he had numerous conversations with jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and wanted gangster Goldy Brar.
According to Sachin Bishnoi, Lawrence informed him that due to being in jail, he couldn't talk much. So, Lawrence asked him (Sachin) to coordinate with Goldy Brar and execute the Moosewala murder, the sources said.
"Goldy assigned me the task of arranging cars for the shooters. I was the one who provided the Bolero cars to the shooters. At that time, I was in constant communication with both Goldy and Anmol. Both of them were in America at that time," Sachin told investigators.
"After the Moosewala incident, Goldy Brar called Sachin to inform him that his passport was blacklisted. He advised Sachin to go to Azerbaijan, where he would find a safe house. Following the murder, Sachin reached Azerbaijan after a couple of days, where he rented an apartment in the capital," said the sources.
Since his arrest by the Azerbaijan police, Sachin had been fighting a legal battle to avoid extradition to India. However, his request was rejected by the higher appellate body in Azerbaijan, prompting the Ministry of Home Affairs to proceed with bringing him back.
In a Facebook post just two days after the fatal shooting of Moosewala on May 29, 2022, Sachin claimed responsibility for the murder, stating that it was not for a "publicity stunt" or "ransom", but because Moosewala allegedly supported and provided shelter to gangsters involved in the assassination of Vicky Middukhera, a leader of the Youth Akali Dal.
Vikramjit Singh, alias Vicky Middukhera, was brutally murdered on August 7, 2021, at a parking lot in Mohali. He had supported Lawrence during his bid for student union President at DAV College in Sector 10 and as the Vice President of the Students Organisation of Panjab University (SOPU).
Sachin has claimed that Moosewala's name was linked to the Middukhera case, but "no action" was taken by the police, leading to their decision to take matters into their own hands, the sources said.
Sachin's maternal uncle and gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was interrogated by Delhi Police's Special Cell, had also alleged that Moosewala was involved in Middukhera's killing, triggering a rivalry between them.